Orationes forenses et acta

 Each one of you has received benefits from him, that having set this forth here with goodwill toward him you might sway the votes, and by showing favo

 Having beset it and stirred herself up to be divinely inspired and worked herself into a bacchic frenzy. now, that the many are deceived by this, i do

 Of her, nor anything else of the things forbidden to me, but which are proclaimed and honored by them. for someone might perhaps excuse him for the fi

 To be enumerated? for divination is for the time being sufficient. but i think, if this had happened before, he would have nobly recorded these things

 Of the difference of theurgies, at the end he adds: one must remove in advance all obstacles to the visitation of the gods and impose a total tranqui

 In these matters i would gladly ask of you, whether it is permitted for a priest to be initiated into such mysteries and to be deemed worthy of such r

 Immediately, therefore, all blushed, or rather, indeed, they shouted with their voices and condemned the leaders of the impiety and named their writin

 Has he discerned? but if indeed the part of the synod has not joined with the senate council nor with the chosen of the nazirites—for this part was no

 Aristotle's theology and the psychogony of plato and the new numbers and the remodeling of doctrines and the expense of the divisible, who of all ever

 What argument is left to you concerning this, or how is it that you dispute with one another over matters of such importance and postpone the decision

 And i gladly admire in you the encomium of the good man in your memorandum. for where he holds on to the whole and bears the burden of common cares, y

 All those, with whom we disagree, have advocated for confusions or divisions. for what do matter and ideas have in common with our doctrines? but sinc

 And of the one who is lifted up and of the one seated on it. know the cherubic and seraphic wings, the perfection of their number, the symbolic coveri

 They have shaken. for if they happened to be uninitiated in our doctrines and completely uninstructed in the mysteries of the spirit, perhaps, having

 For he who receives a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, from the contrary and greater, he who receives an impious man will receive the punishme

 He has despised all things equally, although the law, standing as it were at his ears, cried out: let no one teach or learn profane things. and agai

 He both strung together and vomited up, this twenty-third writing he thinks, or rather he places it between those who were then in every way our own p

 Depicting the madness of nestorian rage. i have left it to you to compare it with the dogmas of the massalians. i brought forth to them from the inner

 The patriarch has acted impiously, clearly and openly. and it is not permitted for any of you who wish, nor for those zealous on his behalf, to defend

 And having brought over certain forces from the west, he stirred them up for war, and they come face to face with each other from both sides. and a fi

 Delaying he is persuaded and is moderate and descends with them. and he dares against two emperors, of whom the one the imperial court held, adorned w

 Being torn apart. but pilate sat judging my divinely-moved emperor, the lord's anointed, who was being considered, not hesitating, not washing his han

 To kill the emperor, unless he came down quickly and bowed his head to him, but he, fearing the tyrannical cruelty and cowering lest he suffer anythin

 An innovative rank and would come to be below. there, then, the morning star raged against the first goodness, but here the evening star has attacked

 Demonic in his life. but again i have turned to you, the judges, and again i ask: has anything been dared by this man or not? you will surely say the

 Then failing to achieve their purpose, they chose to strike and kill. is it not clear to all that, while digging through and breaking into the houses

 Ruin, if he should object saying that he neither urged these things nor wished them, but even punished many of those who dared with all punishments, w

 In the parts on the right, somewhere near the entrance, but you have immediately ascended into heaven on earth itself, as if considering it a terrible

 Disregarding the divine temples, he was destroying them? and he did not cease, piling one on top of another and making them abandoned ruins. for not o

 Leaning together walls collapsed together with their icons and statues. and everything was as if in a great earthquake, the air being darkened, the e

 And the remains of the apostle luke are burned by fire and reduced to dust. i fear that the bodies of martyrs also lay here. i am afraid that some of

 I shall grant you this also. he had no need, it is true, of the burial robes. i admit it, since they had all already decayed. but he did have need of

 Let us not even examine the scene after that, but let these things be considered by him as theaters and hunts. but where the mercy-seat is, and around

 Seeing what was happening was exulting and rejoicing, like of old the whelp of the beast, i mean the one from isauria. but you consider for me what a

 Fire was burning us and the zeal of the lord was consuming us, long ago the man would have perished, or rather, he would not even have had access to t

 To me the macedonian, to the right the spear, at a walk the half-file leader, captain, wheel around. and nothing new nor incredible for one who has

 I pray with the high priest, but the mixture and the sheath which has grown with us turns the mind, being raised aloft, back toward itself. therefore

 He would trace his genealogy from cronus and rhea and from those even further back, i mean hericapaeus and phanes and that orphic night and he traced

 And the same color over all, none of which moved or influenced him? but never to converse even with the more divine words nor to unroll any tablet, th

 The emperor's treasury is not supplied only from mines nor from the recesses of the earth, nor do tributes alone fill it, nor contributions from land

 And to speak of the audacity, or rather—but how could i speak, intertwining things?—and the diligently pursued plot, through which almost everything w

 Granting that you may meet with more benevolent judges above. and then the drink of deposition here will truly appear to you as a purification. and ma

 Suspicious to many. but if he has nothing in common with the one he has chosen to accuse, nor has anything come between them, it is somehow still unac

 They anticipate my tongue, scattering against me the things they did wrong on account of their own greed, and i confidently awaited the court, as one

 To vote against a priest on the spot the penance exceeds all punishment the examination and the penance must proceed canonically. and, as it seems,

 Of the whole age, an unbeliever, so that i may speak truly, to believe against a believer? for this would be far from reason and thought. for where we

 But i, but what might i say about this? he living the life of a private citizen, but i clothed in the high-priestly vestment. and such a man is agains

 With misfortunes and your example, for the sake of argument, let someone come forward as a condemned man to have his neck cut. and let the sword be ha

 Do you receive? for the pardon testifies that the deposition did not seem so even to himself. for if, according to you, it is like a cutting off, what

 Is the cause the comparison of the matter to a beheading? for from this, one absurdity having been granted, these many nonsensical things were consequ

 An evil tale about me for years, leave me to my former wounds, do not card new ones upon me. so may the lord heal you, if indeed there is anything in

 This is the law of accusation and defense, and from this the precise examination of matters is found. but he introduced a new kind of writing into the

 Of voice, for not even this is unworthy of the art, and with a rhythmic turn of the tongue, you perhaps might only approach him, you who indeed gaped

 Has been debarred from studies? but for you in deep old age, what share is there of education? who of all people has known you, as far as i know, afte

 Which they say came into being of their own accord. but these things are not acceptable to you, and for this reason we shall laugh at you again, havin

 Ever, not in courts, not in counsels, not in public, not in private. for this was not even without accusation, but the speech had some defense. from w

 And the nature of fire did not burn, and the steep rock sent forth springs, and the wood here sweetened the bitterness, and there lightened the heavy

 Did he transcend this time? and it is likely, o best one, for christ possessed a nature more free even according to human standards. whether, then, th

 From himself, having allotted a great portion of reason to his soul this man, therefore, having long ago established for himself a little adopted dau

 A contest, but more brilliant was the victory of elpidius, and he went away having overcome the vestarches by all votes and crowning himself with the

 Receiving. when the most compassionate soul heard this supplication, since she also knew the circumstances concerning the bestarches, and that for man

 I will let my tongue go from forbidden deeds. and first i shame myself relating unspeakable and improper things, since i will also become a stumbling

 The amounts owed will be reckoned against each other, and the fine will be reckoned to elpidios in place of the protospatharios's fee, and the protosp

 Having received a seaside property from him, i give back to him in exchange a mainland one as a permanent dwelling by gift. but the kalai property was

 Most complete, not measured by time, not defined by partial successions nor by these alienations or those, but eternal, sufficient for all successions

 Indicating by the documents, which it is also necessary to go through in order. and so that we may make the summaries concise, and not, by going throu

 At that time for the ruler to ratify to her through a gift of a golden bull the property which he had previously granted to the man, not having been i

 But the rest testified that they themselves were not present at such a sale, but had heard from the subscribing witnesses in the confirmatory document

 He marveled at our western setting sun as a morning sunrise, and with the unspeakable pangs of his soul he discerned the ineffable will of god concern

 On both sides the gift is valid for those who received it from there. for the estate was perhaps of the daughters of nicholas’s wife through paternal

 Harmony, who of all could dissolve such a great bond, or rather these wonderful and in reality altogether indissoluble connections? for the first and

 He has made known by an agreement to whom indeed you also entrusted everything under oath and, whatever they themselves should do, you have promised

 Emperor of the romans, doukas. konstantinos, in christ the god faithful emperor of the romans, doukas. ioannes, most humble archbishop of constantinop

depicting the madness of Nestorian rage. I have left it to you to compare it with the dogmas of the Massalians. I brought forth to them from the inner sanctuary the female god or servant of the gods; I also brought forth our great master, who though unassailable by any grasp has been captured by their dogmas and laws and customs and by the demigoddess and prophetess, who embraced some in his inmost breast and carries them everywhere as his bosom friends, and who placed her inside the divine temple after the knowledge of the impiety, and led her up to Mount Sinai, and brought her inside the cloud, and partook of the mysteries, and shared in her rites. I described to you the appearance of the prophetic songstress, the transformation from the female to a masculine look, the garment, the cutting of the hair. I depicted for you, so to speak, the possession and the partaking of her spirit, the movement of her limbs, the ecstasy of her mind, the hypocrisy of her character, the derangement of her intellect. I told you of the master's astonishment, his standing by in fear, the drawing back of his feet, the clasping of his hands; how he deified her things, how he was perfected, how he was initiated, how he took part in the new Eleusinian rites? How all that was previously whispered had become Delphic, Dodonian, Apollonian, Dionysiac; in addition to these things I also revealed to you the public disclosure of the deceit, that divine tribunal, the indictment, the test of truth, the discovery of piety, the straightforward judgment, the acknowledged condemnation, the leading away, the just exile, the care and contrition of the disciple and master for his teachers, the plan after these things, the encircling supplication and entreaty to our most great emperor, how he besieged, how he has thrown up a palisade, in order to shake his soul, how, proposing one thing, he has received another. Upon these things I brought on the recall of the teachers, the gratitude of the disciple, the defense for the postponement, the boldness of the impiety, how the torch of his heresy was no longer hidden under a bushel. But along with the tongue, the hand also was signifying the impious thing. I spoke of the new writing on their behalf and at the same time the eulogy; which even one of the most foolish would have shrunk from, but the most intelligent master, and in practical matters most subtle and most precise, dared every composition on their behalf. Having thus divided these things for you part by part, to each one I applied the canons of the God-bearing fathers, placing a rock to the plumb line, as they say, which is to say, directing the arguments toward their rules, as it were. But a forced or technical concept, or a rhetorical hook, or a variegated and twisted construction, neither do I myself know, nor, perhaps, if I did know, would I have used such arguments here. Nor have I made my speech clever and burdensome or obscured the thoughts, but I have also simplified the phrasing and made the meaning shine for you, so that none of you might be able to say that this part has been cleverly constructed and that part more variously interpreted. Nor have I raised my speech to a great height, lifting it up by means with which it is known to be lifted up, so that no one might think the demonstration proceeds by the power of art, but by the force of the facts. And I have placed the sun not under a cloud, but clear and cloudless, so that, if someone should say he does not see the disc, or that he sees it, but not clearly, this man might at once reckon that his eyes are confused. So examine our words and, word for word of what has been said, make your counter-argument—which I do not expect—so that I may know if, having taken such care for truth and precision, I have missed your objection. But you, for your part, consider it as you will; but I have discussed these many things with you, not making a display of wisdom nor fashioning and beautifying myself like a statue, but demonstrating sufficiently that

Νεστορίου λύττης τὴν μανίαν ἀπεικονίζουσαν. ὑμῖν ἀφῆκα συγκρίνειν αὐτὴν τοῖς τῶν Μασσαλιωτῶν δόγμασι. τὴν θήλειαν αὐτοῖς θεὸν ἢ ὑπηρέτιν θεῶν ἐκ τῶν ἀδύτων ἐξήνεγκα· παρήνεγκα καὶ τὸν μέγαν ἡμῶν δεσπότην καὶ λαβαῖς πάσαις ἀνάλωτον ἑαλωκότα καὶ τῶν δογμάτων αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν νομίμων καὶ τῶν ἐθῶν καὶ τῆς ἡμιθέου καὶ μάντιδος καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐν μέσοις κατακολπίσαντα στήθεσι καὶ ἐγκολπίους πανταχοῦ φέροντα, τὴν δὲ ἔνδον τε τοῦ θείου πεποιηκότα νεὼ μετὰ τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς ἀσεβείας καὶ εἰς τὸ Σίναιον ὄρος ἀναβιβάσαντα καὶ τῆς νεφέλης ἔνδον εἰσαγαγόντα καὶ μετειληφότα τῶν μυστηρίων καὶ τῶν ὀργίων αὐτῇ κοινωνήσαντα. ἐξέφρασα ὑμῖν τὸ εἶδος τῆς μαντῳδοῦ, τὴν ἐκ τοῦ θήλεος εἰς τὸ ἀρρενωπὸν μεταποίησιν, τὴν ἀναβολήν, τὴν κουρὰν τῶν τριχῶν. ἐξεικόνισα ὑμῖν μονονοὺ καὶ τὴν κατοχὴν καὶ τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτῆς μετοχήν, τὴν κίνησιν τῶν μελῶν, τὴν ἔκστασιν τῶν φρενῶν, τὴν ὑπόκρισιν τῶν ἠθῶν, τὴν τῆς διανοίας παράλλαξιν. εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ τοῦ δεσπότου τὸ θάμβος, τὴν μετὰ δέους παράστασιν, τὴν τῶν ποδῶν συστολήν, τὴν τῶν χειρῶν συμπλοκήν, ὡς ἐξεθείασε τὰ ἐκείνης, ὡς ἐτελέσθη, ὡς ἐμυήθη, ὡς μετέσχε τῶν νέων Ἐλευσινίων; ὡς ἅπαντα ἐγεγόνει τὰ τέως θυλλούμενα, ∆ελφικός, ∆ωδωναῖος, Ἀπολλωνιακός, ∆ιονυσιακός· πρὸς τούτοις καὶ τὴν τῆς ἀπάτης ὑμῖν ἀνεκάλυψα δημοσίευσιν, τὸ θεῖον ἐκεῖνο κριτήριον, τὴν ἐπαγωγήν, τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας βάσανον, τὴν τῆς εὐσεβείας εὕρεσιν, τὴν εὐθῆ κρίσιν, τὴν συνεγνωσμένην κατάκρισιν, τὴν ἀπαγωγήν, τὴν δικαίαν ὑπερορίαν, τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς διδασκάλοις τοῦ μαθητοῦ καὶ δεσπότου φροντίδα καὶ συντριβήν, τήν μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπίνοιαν, τὴν ἐμπερίβολον πρὸς τὸν μέγιστον ἡμῶν αὐτοκράτορα ἱκετηρίαν καὶ ἐκλιπάρησιν, ὡς ἐπολιόρκησεν, ὡς βέβληκε χάρακα, ἵνα κατασείσῃ τὴν ἐκείνου ψυχήν, ὡς ἄλλο προθέμενος ἕτερον εἴληφεν. ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐπήγαγον τὴν τῶν διδασκάλων ἀνάκλησιν, τὴν εὐγνωμοσύνην τοῦ μαθητοῦ, τὴν ἀπολογίαν τῆς ὑπερθέσεως, τὴν παρρησίαν τῆς ἀσεβείας, ὡς οὐκέτι ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον ὁ πυρσὸς αὐτῷ τῆς αἱρέσεως ἐκέκρυπτο. Ἀλλὰ μετὰ τῆς γλώττης καὶ ἡ χεὶρ τὸ ἀσεβὲς ὑπεσήμαινεν. εἶπον τὴν καινὴν ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων γραφὴν ἄμα καὶ εὐφημίαν· ἣν κἂν τις τῶν ἠλιθιωτάτων ἀπώκνησεν, ἀλλ' ὁ συνετώτατος δεσπότης καὶ περὶ τὰ πρακτέα λεπτότατός τε καὶ ἀκριβέστατος πᾶσαν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐθάρρησε συγγραφήν. ταῦτα δὴ κατὰ μέρος ὑμῖν διελόμενος ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ τοὺς τῶν θεοφόρων πατέρων κανόνας προσήρμοσα, πέτραν ὅ φασι πρὸς στάθμῃ τιθείς, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀπευθύνων τοὺς λόγους πρὸς τοὺς ἐκείνων ὡσανεὶ γνώμονας. βίαιον δὲ ἢ τεχνικὸν νόημα ἢ ῥητορείας ἀγκύλην ἢ ποικίλην καὶ συνεστραμμένην κατασκευὴν οὔτε αὐτὸς οἶδα οὔτε ἴσως εἰδὼς τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐνταῦθα ἐχρησάμην ἐπιχειρήμασιν. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ δεινὸν καὶ φορτικὸν τὸν λόγον πεποίηκα ἢ τὰ νοήματα συνεσκίασα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν φράσιν διέλυσα καὶ τὴν ἔννοιαν ὑμῖν ἀπελάμπρυνα, ἵνα μηδεὶς ὑμῶν ἔχοι λέγειν, ὡς τοῦτο μὲν δεινῶς κατεσκεύασται, ἐκεῖνο δὲ ποικιλώτερον διηρμήνευται. οὐδὲ τὸν λόγον εἰς ὕψος ἐπῆρα, μετεωρίσας οἷς οἶδε μετεωρίζεσθαι, ὥστε μηδένα τῇ δυνάμει τῆς τέχνης, ἀλλὰ τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων ἰσχύι τὴν ἀπόδειξιν οἰηθῆναι προβήσεσθαι. καὶ τέθεικα οὐχ ὑπὸ τῷ νέφει τὸν ἥλιον, ἀλλὰ διαυγῆ καὶ ἀνέφελον, ἵν', εἴ τις λέγοι μὴ βλέπειν τὸν δίσκον ἢ βλέπειν μέν, μὴ καθαρὸν δέ, λογίζοιτο οὗτος εὐθὺς συγκεχυμένος τὰ ὄμματα. σκοπεῖτε γοῦν τὰ ἡμέτερα καὶ πρὸς ἔπος τῶν εἰρημένων τὴν ἀντιλογίαν- ὅπερ οὐκ οἶμαι-ποιήσατε, ἵν' εἰδῶ, εἰ τοσοῦτον τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ ἀκριβείας φροντίσας ἠγνόησα τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀντίρρησιν. ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς μέν, ὅπως ἂν ἐθέλοιτε, διασκέψασθε· ἐγὼ δὲ τὰ πολλὰ ταῦτα διείλεγμαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, οὐκ ἐπίδειξιν σοφίας ποιούμενος οὐδ' ἐμαυτὸν κατασκευάζων καὶ καλλύνων καθαπερεὶ ἄγαλμα, ἀλλ' ἀποδεικνὺς ἀποχρώντως, ὅτι